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Car Roof Lining Repair for Classic Cars [Ultimate Guide]
G’day, mate! Welcome back to Patty’s Garage, where I talk all things classic cars.
Today, we’ll be getting up close and personal with the ultimate guide to car roof lining repair. It’s an often-overlooked way to instantly improve your classic car.
Let’s get cracking!
Benefits of DIY Car Roof Lining Repair
Dealing with your classic car’s roof lining repair early on is super important. Getting stuck in and doing your own car roof lining repairs can save you money, time and a future headache.
It’s easy to put this stuff off but trust me, you’ll regret it. In my eyes, the three biggest benefits of DIY car roof lining repair are:
- Reduced noise
- Nicer looks
- More comfortable
Much as I love windows down and music pumping, it’s also nice to escape the din of the morning traffic.
Most people don’t realise just how important your roof lining is for blocking noise. It insulates your car against the outside world, which is pretty sweet.
Not to mention, your roof lining manages the car temperature so you don’t get too hot or cold. Your car is essentially a big metal box with the roof liner stopping all that heat from being absorbed.
I know I’ll be grateful for this updated insulation as we head towards another sweltering Aussie summer.
Also, a drooping car roof liner looks plain terrible. Those sorts of common but easy-to-fix issues make your classic seem old, neglected, and frankly, a bit of a dump.
Sure, fixing your roof lining isn’t as snazzy as a full car paint repair. However, we all want our classics to look their best.
Not to mention, doing car roof lining repairs yourself is just plain smart. You save time, money and learn new skills. Plus, doing your own repairs is bloody fun.
Downsides of DIY Car Roof Lining Repair
Car roof lining repair is pretty simple. However, like all DIY repairs, you’ve got to accept the risks.
In my experience, here are the three biggest downsides:
- DIY Mistakes
- No warranty
- Time wasted
As with any DIY job, you gotta own the risks. If you screw up the repair, you might end up creasing the material and forming ugly-looking patches.
And once those mistakes are made, there’s not a whole lot you can do. Sure, you can touch them up a little but they’re still going to leave a mark.
Professionals have warranties and whatnot to make sure that no matter what, everything ends up looking all right. With DIY repairs, you don’t have the same protections and the only person to blame is yourself.
Even if you can fix a mistake, it’s still going to waste time and this backpedalling will likely end up taking longer than you originally planned.
It all boils down to what happens if you mess up. And yeah, that’ll suck. It’ll take longer, cost more and it might end up looking worse.
The best way to avoid these worst-case scenarios is to take your time and follow the guide below.
Car Roof Lining Repair
Full-on removing your roof liner is often unnecessary and it takes a lot longer and costs a lot more.
As long as you don’t have any major rips or tears, your car roof lining repair can be as simple as sticking the roof lining back into position.
To do this, you’ll need a spray or glue designed for vehicle upholstery fabric. Once you’ve got one of those, you’ll need to follow these simple steps:
- Peel back the detached area to expose the roof liner beneath
- Adjust the nozzle on your bottle of solution so it’s set to the ideal spray pattern (that’ll be different for every bottle so play around a bit)
- Spray your adhesive solution onto the detached area
- Evenly reattach the roof lining (be super careful here as people often rush this last step and crease the lining)
And then you’re done. It’s as simple as grabbing your adhesive upholstery spray and using it to stick the sagging car roof liner back together.
Oh and be sure to save that spray or glue as you can use that for future car upholstery repairs.
A sagging roof liner will only get worse (and look worse) with time so I’d recommend getting onto that one straightaway.
Conclusion
Thanks for stopping by Patty’s Garage! Good on ya for taking car repairs into your own hands.
Pumped to try out these new repairs? Save heaps on essential auto parts with our VIP club membership, which provides access to discounts from over 300 Auto retailers and services providers within Australia; as well as getting free entries into our classic car giveaways.
It makes those DIY repairs that much cheaper and puts you in the running to win some of the most iconic classic cars on the market.
If this all sounds pretty sweet, then be sure to sign up today! Join now and I’ll see you next time.
